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DOUGLAS -- A celebration of life for James William "Jim" Adams, 53, will be held at a later date.

He died Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008 at Memorial Hospital of Converse County in Douglas.

Jim, who had tired of reading obituaries noting other's courageous battles with this or that disease, wanted it known that he lost his battle. It was primarily as a result of being stubborn and not following doctor's orders or maybe for just living life a little too hard for better than five decades.

He was born June 8, 1955 in Garrison, N.D. the son of James William and Ruby Helen (Clark) Adams.

He was sadly deprived of his final wish, which was to be run over by a beer truck on the way to the liquor store to buy booze for a date. True to his personal style, he spent his final hours joking with medical personnel, cussing and begging for narcotics and bargaining with God to look over his loving dog, Biscuit, and his family.

He would like to thank all "his ladies" for putting up with him the last 30 years.

During his life, he excelled at anything he put his mind to. He loved to hear and tell jokes and spin tales of grand adventures he may or may not have had.

He is survived by five sons, Jeremiah Adams and his wife, Nicole, Mica Olivas, Wade Olivas, Brice Simpson and Cole Adams; sister, Jerri Giegerich; two ex-wives, Vickie Harrison and Marilyn Williams; four grandchildren; two nieces; and two great-nieces.

He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother-in-law.

In lieu of flowers, he asks that you make a sizeable purchase at your favorite watering hole, get rip roaring drunk and tell the stories he no longer can.

It's time we took those death notices back. Nothing is more depressing or creepy than reading some kind of finger-wagging admonition (Donations the Fund to Prevent Smoking While Parachuting, please) or some detailed explanation (Jim's pancreas blew up and burst during a routine testicular examination).

It's nobody's business what you died of or whether you regretted whatever it was (since everything is our fault these days).

I hate funerals with a passion. I would rather remember someone when they were alive than go see them dead. Much less listening to some old fool say, "They look so good!" They're dead...

I hate the stupid things people say about the body. Luckily, for my grandma's funeral last fall, Grandpa (who hates that kind of thing, too, even though Grandma was usually the one saying it) had her cremated before the funeral and there was no "showing", so we didn't have to deal with this. My mom was mad at me at my aunt's funeral (not even her relative) because I wouldn't go up and view the body at the end of the service. I told her that Aunt Jo wouldn't want me staring at her dead body, and she shut up (because she knew I was right).

I had a friend in high school who shot himself in the head. I didn't go to the funeral, but my parents made me go to the family hour at the funeral home. They actually had an open casket-it was awful. Even though the undertaker placed him in so that the side with the wound faced the inside of the casket, you could still see the entry point. It's an image that surfaces occasionally in my dreams, even 25+ years later.

Excellent!! A friend and colleague of mine had some time to plan his final send off. He insisted that there be no morbid memorial service upon his death. Instead, he wanted enough time to pass so that it would not appear unseemly, and then his daughter was to throw a party in his honor. There were to be no tears, but instead, good food, alcohol, and the chance for those who knew him to get together and laugh about all the pranks he had pulled over his lifetime.

She complied. It was one of the most appropriate sendoffs for anyone I've ever seen. He was the kind of guy that, shortly after being diagnosed with the brain cancer that ultimately killed him, in seemingly all seriousness, he called me to have me look for an appropriate facility that would freeze his sperm so that he could have immortality. It wasn't until he then asked me to be the vessel through which this would be accomplished that I realized he had once again pulled off a prank. He would have heartily enjoyed this guy's obit.

he called me to have me look for an appropriate facility that would freeze his sperm so that he could have immortality. It wasn't until he then asked me to be the vessel through which this would be accomplished that I realized he had once again pulled off a prank.

You would deny a friend's simple last request? :(

"Today, [the American voter] chooses his rulers as he buys bootleg whiskey, never knowing precisely what he is getting, only certain that it is not what it pretends to be." - H.L. Mencken

Excellent!! A friend and colleague of mine had some time to plan his final send off. He insisted that there be no morbid memorial service upon his death. Instead, he wanted enough time to pass so that it would not appear unseemly, and then his daughter was to throw a party in his honor. There were to be no tears, but instead, good food, alcohol, and the chance for those who knew him to get together and laugh about all the pranks he had pulled over his lifetime.

She complied. It was one of the most appropriate sendoffs for anyone I've ever seen. He was the kind of guy that, shortly after being diagnosed with the brain cancer that ultimately killed him, in seemingly all seriousness, he called me to have me look for an appropriate facility that would freeze his sperm so that he could have immortality. It wasn't until he then asked me to be the vessel through which this would be accomplished that I realized he had once again pulled off a prank. He would have heartily enjoyed this guy's obit.

One of my best friends is Greek Orthodox, and I went to both of her parents' funerals. The church service was traditional, and because it was all in greek, I didn't understand any of it. The receptions afterwards were great-it is greek custom that the deceased buy all of his friends and family one last meal. At both receptions, we had a restaurant quality meal, and decent wine. There weren't any tears, just lots of photos of the deceased and people sharing memories of them.